Settling down here, so you'll always know where to find us.

Just Another Day in Paradise

According to the doc, we’ve got five weeks to go till Rudy Deux gets here. Heaven help us, but time is absolutely FLYING.

Luckily, we’ve not been idle.

He’s getting bigger by the second, I swear.

We’re getting the most out of this fantastic Wisconsin weather while we can.

It’s pretty much gorgeous every day here, even during that humid stretch a couple of weeks ago.

I can tell you that pregnancy during summer up here beats the pants off my previous experience. By a factor of a million or so.

Central Park in Superior. I promise, I didn’t let him uproot ALL the flowers.

John, bless him, in addition to working as much as possible before Numero Dos gets here, is preparing to sit for yet another certification. One of these days, I may even understand exactly what it’s for.

Nesting has kicked in hard this time. Not only did we buy a deep freezer a couple months back, but it is now full of about two months’ worth of pre-made meals for the weeks after RudyTwo’s arrival.

(If you’re interested in what I’ve cooked so far — because I know you’re dying to know — recipes are here, here, here, here, and here. That may seem like a lot of food, but there’s a method to the cooking madness, I swear. Summer of 2012, I made exactly two freezer meals. That is, I made six huge pans EACH. Of two recipes. Don’t get me wrong, we definitely used them, but I don’t think I’ve gone near a lasagna since.)

Speaking of RudyTwo…

Want a guaranteed way to make a pregnant mama cry? (In a good way, I mean. It doesn’t take much, I know, but this will do the trick every time!)

A Baby Shower in a Box!

Funny enough, when this massive box arrived at my door the other day I didn’t think much about it, as I was expecting a pretty big delivery from Amazon. It wasn’t until much later, after we got Little Man to sleep that, that I even looked at the return address.

This may be the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. Be assured, there were tears.

Who wouldn’t be delighted by such a gift? We found some gorgeous new-baby clothes, diapers, some presents for Little Man, even some of my aunt’s beautiful handmade blankets and towels.

AND CUPCAKES.

And John’s personal favorite…

A pizza delivery gift card, valued at two billion dollars*!

Best new-mom gift there is. (Except maybe the cupcakes – those are hard to beat!)

I cannot tell you how grateful I am, how grateful we both are, to have so many people thinking of us these days. We’ve been enjoying our adventures in the Great White North, but being so far from family at times like this still causes some pangs. We’re looking forward to being able to celebrate with you all in person again soon!

*Actual card value does not reflect the number of zeroes depicted in this image. (Believe me, I checked.)